Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1641: Chapter 1625: Making an Outrageous Demand

The expansion rate of silk works compared to wood panels is different. ”The Admonitions Scroll” is created on silk, and if not preserved correctly, over a hundred years of thermal expansion and contraction can cause the silk to crumble into powder.

Thus, rumors later circulated, claiming that the version of ”The Admonitions Scroll” at the British Museum was split into two sections by the in-house craftsmen due to its length, mounted on two separate wood panels for better preservation.

However, whether these rumors are true remains unconfirmed.

In reality, nearly every Chinese visitor to the British Museum wishes to see the true face of this famous piece, but the museum claims various reasons for not displaying ”The Admonitions Scroll,” so no one has seen this copy.

So, when several elderly professors saw the words ”The Admonitions Scroll” on the list Adrian presented, noted as a copy from Emperor Taizong of Tang’s era, they were quite astonished.

But soon, they reacted, and Zhou Shitao remarked, ”This isn’t impossible. ’The Admonitions Scroll’ holds an exceptional position in ancient Huaxia painting works. If this artwork were truly hidden in the British Museum, with the temperament of the Brits, it would be impossible for them to keep it hidden for so long. Their museum hasn’t exhibited this piece in years, so I think there’s definitely something fishy going on.”

”Perhaps the one stored by the British is actually a forgery, and that’s why they dare not display it and risk embarrassment. Given the depth of the Adrian family’s foundation, they wouldn’t use forgeries to try to deceive us. These Brits ruined so many good things in Jingdu in the early years.”

Huang Zhenlong also analyzed but spoke with gritted teeth toward these western thieves, harboring intense resentment.

Qin Lianshan sighed and said, ”Don’t complain. To be blunt, the fact that these things ended up in foreigners’ hands may not necessarily be a bad thing.”

”Over a decade ago, I visited America. At the time, a museum director and I hit it off right away, and he insisted on inviting me to his house to see his collection.”

”I went to see it, and not counting the treasures displayed outside, I walked into the collection room, and all around were walls; hanging on those walls were precious ancient wall paintings of Huaxia.”

”How did these things come to be? Didn’t the allied forces taking them abroad by cutting them out during their invasion of Huaxia?”

”But can you guess what the museum director Zhang said? He said that with the country’s turmoil, if these treasures had remained domestically, they would have been destroyed by now.”

”When I heard this, I was furious and ashamed, feeling that everything about me was unsatisfactory.”

Qin Lianshan’s words brought silence to the elderly people in the room.

These elderly folks are all at least fifty or sixty, having experienced the hardships and suffering of those ten years. Hearing Qin Lianshan’s words, they each involuntarily recalled scenes from those years and remembered how they managed to survive those times.

For a moment, the study room fell silent, with everyone displaying complex expressions in their eyes.

Finally, Zhou Shitao took a deep breath and slowly said, ”What’s past is past, why bring it up again? Our task now is to bring these treasures back; we’ve been emphasizing for years that even if it costs a fortune, we should get back whatever we can, one item at a time.”

”Now Huo Sining is fighting alone abroad, yet she is doing much better than us old folks can; she’s managed to retrieve over two hundred cultural relics at once, which is a tremendously virtuous act. Since we can’t provide her direct support on the front line, we shouldn’t hinder her efforts. What we should do now is to revitalize ourselves and quickly mark down the necessary artifacts!”

Zhou Shitao’s words immediately awakened the professors still immersed in memories. Huang Zhenlong’s spirit was lifted, his heavy expression gave way to a smile:

”Old Zhou, you’re right! Huo Sining’s ability surpasses all of us. In recent years, she has retrieved quite a number of fine items from abroad, which is a positive sign. In the future, certainly more and more treasures will return to the homeland!”

Others also became energetic, each enthusiastically joining the task of selecting artifacts.

”This is the Longquan kiln celadon carved flower grape pattern large bowl...”

”This Shang dynasty Bronze Vertical-eye Human-God Statue...”

”Famen Temple Buddha’s Fingernail Relic...”

”Yu the Great’s Jade Mountain, which is from Qianlong’s era, the largest completed jade carving to date...”

”Beihai Jade Urn ’Dudu Mountain Great Jade Sea’, the largest jade wine vessel of the royal family from the Yuan Dynasty...”

”Ming Dynasty Da Bin Model Purple Clay Teapot...”

”Qing Dynasty Enamel Color Hibiscus Pheasant Jade Pot Spring Vase...”

One national treasure after another was picked out, and in the end, these old gentlemen couldn’t help but select four to five hundred items, far exceeding the number Huo Sining needed.

The old gentlemen gazed at the list in mutual understanding, each revealing an expression of reluctance, but there was no choice; in these circumstances, managing to retrieve over two hundred pieces is already no small feat, so they can’t be too greedy.

After several rounds of discussion, everyone bit their teeth and hard-heartedly eliminated more than half of the items, each removal causing the old gentlemen to sigh, expressing various reluctances:

”This one also removed, oh my, this is good stuff, the Forbidden City has only one set.”

”This is gone too; this item, the domestic collections are all fragments, it’s not easy to find a complete set!”

”Don’t remove that one, it belongs to the Tang Dynasty...”

With each removal, someone exclaimed in surprise, and Zhou Shitao listened with a mix of laughter and tears.

The catastrophic events from a hundred years ago led countless precious antiques to scatter abroad, and no one can calculate precisely how many, but these national-level treasures that can now only exist in foreign collections are right before them, making the old fellows only wish they could retrieve everything, which Zhou Shitao can understand having such sentiments.

Only until past seven o’clock in the evening did they finally determine the final list, and asked Qin Lianshan’s household guard to help make it into a table, and it was sent directly to Huo Sining’s inbox.

Upon receiving the list, Huo Sining excitedly downloaded it right away.

However, upon viewing the list, even Huo Sining couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, smiling bitterly in her heart; these old gentlemen really dare to choose—every item in this list is certainly no ordinary matter.